Over the past 2 years, healthy and wellness have been at the forefront of everyone’s mind. We had a lot of time on hands to reflect on our way of living at home and at the workplace. Daily lifestyle became the focus of a lot of people – highlighting both positive and negative. Our homes were another area that caught our attention – were there things we could change to better our moods and productivity.
Whether it be external, internal or environmental – taking care of our wellbeing is essential to promoting our mental and emotional health. When people hear wellness or health, they tend to think of the body and how to care for it. Eating well, working out, spa-days and so on, but a healthy environment has become a priority for people’s homes. Designing interiors with wellness and health in mind seemed to be a trend, yes, but it is now a must-have in the majority of interiors – residential and commercial.
I’d like to tap into a few elements we can incorporate into our homes to promote health and wellness. These can be minor tweaks or additions or it can be redesigning an entire room to create spaces that support a positive way of living.
Natural Light
It has been common knowledge that lighting can effect our emotion. It can transform the atmosphere of a space to set the mood – like a warm accent lamp – or it can be purposefully placed to ensure a room is functional – like in a kitchen or workspace. The most impactful lighting is…you guessed it…natural lighting. There have been many studies showing the positive role natural lighting plays in our overall wellbeing. Designing a space that harnesses natural lighting is the most effective way that you can gauge how much natural light your room gets. An easier, less costly way to maximize natural lighting in your home is to:
- Strategically decorate around it. Don’t place too much or any furniture in front of the windows. Add decorative mirrors to bounce lighting. If you need a quiet space for reading or reflecting, face chairs towards the window.
- Choose the living spaces with the most windows to use for your daily living – where do you entertain, where do you work/play, where do you like to be alone to recharge.
- Opt out of heavy window treatments and use pretty sheers instead. Or if your window’s outside view doesn’t receive a lot of heavy traffic, remove the window treatments altogether!
- If certain spaces of your home simply don’t let in much natural lighting at all, you can paint the walls a lighter color to reflect the light and maximize whatever natural lighting the room does get.
An Outdoor Connection
Designing a space that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye is important but the main focus should be creating a space that is holistically pleasing to the mind and body. The easiest and truly most effective way to do both of these things is by incorporating live plants into the space. It has been proven that plants increase oxygen and purify air in the home. Plants are also the perfect way to create an outdoor connection in the home. Nature is a wonderful element that truly promotes wellbeing.
Add indoor plants to your must-have list – whether you add a pot or two of greenery in every room or create an entire “plant room” – embrace nature. Side note: The act of caring for and nurturing something brings life to the soul, so don’t forget to water those plants!
Keep It Fresh
Fresh air is nature’s remedy for a stale and dull atmosphere indoors, so open those windows! Increasing healthy air flow and improving ventilation will help eliminate toxins. Add air purifiers and humidifiers. Air purifiers help pull unwanted particles from the air and purified air is filtered back into the room to help circulate clean air. Humidifiers emit water vapor or steam into the air which increases moisture in the air. This promotes health benefits, like easing allergy symptoms or dry skin. Air purifiers can also help reduce the spread of viruses or unwanted bacteria in the air. They don’t all come in bulky, unsightly forms. There are so many sleek and truly stylish looks.
I recently discovered the air purifier Mila. It comes in 3 different sizes, it has smart features that work with Alexa and Hey Google, it lets you know when the air quality has change outdoors, monitors mold in the home and features a carbon monoxide sensor.
These are 3 basic but essential elements you can focus on to promote health and wellness behind the scenes. Stay tuned for an upcoming post where we will share tips on how to decorate with wellness in mind by creating a positive, aesthetically pleasing home.
If you’re ready to have a conversation about designing a home that functions for you. Let’s talk!
Kindly,
